Introduction

Intro to American Hiphop By Region: West Coast

Born from African American aesthetic traditions of the South and developed in the Bronx and greater New York City into a full-blown popular musical and cultural art form, in the 1980s hiphop began to spread like wildfire around the country and around the globe. This unit continues an exploration of the basics of hiphop, including what are usually referred to as hiphop's "five founding elements": MCing, b-boying, beatboxing, DJing, and graffiti art. Taking on the West Coast as this unit's region of study, students will learn about the rise of so-called "gangsta rap," the birth of Death Row Records, G-funk, and the historical events that informed the music, including the Watts Riots of 1965.